Bulldogs put damper on homecoming for Miners

PARK CITY — Judge Memorial seemed like a curious choice for Park City's homecoming opponent, given a recent history of success and a still unblemished record. But for two quarters, the Bulldogs played the role visiting teams are supposed to play in that situation.

Judge gave up an uncomfortable amount of turnovers and had several other near-misses — putting it on the wrong end of a two touchdown margin.

Once the passing game came to life in the second half, however, the Bulldogs turned the tables on the Miners. Joe Pond and Keenyn Walker hooked up for a pair of fourth quarter touchdown passes — including the game winner with 1:21 left — to help Judge escape Summit County with a 21-14 victory on Friday night and move to 6-0 on the season.

Pond finished with 153 yards and three touchdowns on 9 of 17 passing — with all three scoring plays going to Walker. It made up for a night where the Bulldogs struggled to generate much on the ground.

"They had our run game shut down tonight," Pond said. "They scouted us well and they flew to the ball."

It didn't appear the Bulldogs could ride the baseball star's arm either after a turbulent first half where he threw one interception and was nearly picked off twice more. But the offensive line buckled down in the second half and bought Pond precious extra seconds to make reads and find the open man.

Pond made their effort count. After Park City converted consecutive Judge miscues into a 14-0 second-quarter lead, the senior marched the Bulldog offense down field with precision.

He completed 4 of 5 passes for 80 yards — including a 36 yarder to Walker on 4th and 5 from the Miner 43 yard line. Pond finished off the drive with a six yard strike — again to Walker — and made it 14-7 with 12 seconds remaining in the half.

Pond found his favorite target even more in the fourth quarter. He connected with Walker on a 34-yard touchdown pass, one play after DeVaughn Wilkins recovered a Park City fumble, tying it at 14-14. Then Pond found him again for the game winning five-yard pass.

Walker helped Pond out by consistently finding a way to get open when his team needed a big play.

"He's as good as he wants to be," said Judge coach James Cordova. "He's amazing when he wants to be."

The game was a little closer than the Bulldogs would have liked. But they came away pleased with the mental toughness they showed down the stretch against a solid football team.

"Mentally right now we are very good," Pond said. "On the Xs and Os, we're a little rusty right now. But when we get those Xs and Os down, I don't know how far we can go."

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E-mail: jcoon@desnews.com